PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF FORMIC ACID

摘要

1. A process for the preparation of anhydrous or substantially anhydrous formic acid by hydrolyzing methyl formate in the presence of a formamide and then obtaining the formic acid from the hydrolysis mixture by distillation, wherein the hydrolysis is carried out in the presence of 0.5-3 moles, per mole of methyl formate, of a water-soluble formamide of the formula I see diagramm : EP0161544,P5,F1 where R**1 and R**2 are each alkyl or together form an alkylene group, giving a 5-membered to 7-membered ring, with the proviso that the sum of the carbon atoms in R**1 and R**2 is 5 or 6 and that, in the case of an alkylene group, a carbon atom which is not directly bonded to the N atom can be replaced by an oxygen atom.